Another council walkout
STORY: Dave Savides
Tonie Heyneke
CEO rewarded and ousted in minutes
City councillors, minus the DA/IFP/FF Alliance who walked out of council chambers, decided on Tuesday to institute disciplinary action against sidelined CEO, Dr Tonie Heyneke.
Ironically, the harsh action was taken just minutes after the same council session had deemed Heyneke worthy of a healthy, six-figure performance bonus.
The Municipal Manager, presently on special paid leave and in legal dispute with his employer over alleged irregular City land sales and deviations from council policies, scored highest in performance evaluations and merited a bonus sum of R127 726.
Five other officials were also allocated performance bonuses.
However, unspoken praise for Dr Heyneke soon turned to scorn as Item 6512: ‘Accusations against the City Manager’ left no doubt as to the council’ ANC majority’s intention to get rid of him.
The move was taken following legal opinion which suggested that Heyneke had seriously contravened the Municipality’s Recruitment and Selection Policy in appointing certain officials to senior posts.
Heyneke was accused of ‘insubordination’ for refusing to comply with certain directives from the Speaker, and of ‘generally visiting disrepute upon the Municipality’.
Cllr DA Nxumalo proposed that the item be struck off the agenda as a Labour Court of 4 March was pending and the matter was ‘sub judice’.
He was backed by Cllr John Harvey, who condemned a ‘political agenda’.
Their motion was not entertained and the Alliance members walked out when debate began.
With no opposition, the item was passed calling for a prosecutor to be appointed to deal with disciplinary proceedings; and for the Deputy Municipal Manager to take whatever steps are necessary to give effect to the resolution to take disciplinary action.
